Having smooth, firm facial skin goes hand in hand with a decent head of hair. With simple, cost effective interventions that are currently available, it is becoming more possible to indefinitely keep skin in youthful condition, without having to resort to surgery. Facial surgery, not unlike hair transplants have never been a truly viable option anyway, the primary reason being that even the best jobs are in most cases, identifiable. I am personally not secure enough to go around looking like I’ve had “work” done. If I were in that situation, I’d be doing my damnest to make sure I didn’t by necessity, need even more work done.

Like hair loss, facial wrinkles and slack skin are a lot easier to prevent than they are to deal with after the fact. If one starts intervening early enough, you will still get carded for your wine purchases well into your 50’s. Starting in your late 20’s you should ideally be using an organic sunscreen as part of your daily moisturizing regime. I say organic because the wrong sunscreen ingredients can actually deprive you of a tan while accelerating skin aging. The reason for this is that most commercial sunscreens sold in the US have active ingredients that act as free radical catalysts when interacting with UV light, and although they prevent visible tanning and burning they accelerate skin aging and increase the risks for skin cancer. You’d be significantly better off with no “protection.” Titanium dioxide and Zinc Oxide are the only 2 active ingredients your sunscreens should have-period. There are only a handful of manufacturers that make organic sunscreens that are practical for daily use that don’t have you walking around looking like Casper the friendly ghost. My personal favorite is Soleo, applied over a light coat of Emu Oil, which additionally has other purely organic ingredients that are good for skin.

You should also minimally be taking high doses of vitamin C, at least 3 grams a day, to maintain the tensile strength of collagen, which will by itself over time, largely prevent loose, sagging,skin. Retin A should be used nightly or at least 4 times a week. Emu Oil can be applied concurrently with Retin A to further enhance collagen production, and eliminate any drying caused by Retin A. Soy Isoflavones were patented by L’Oreal with vitamin C and Lycopene in an oral anti-wrinkle cosmaceutical named “Firmeza” to maintain skin firmness. Green Tea and Caratenoids function as an internal skin protectant against UV induced damage to skin, and impart a UV free color and healthy glow to skin. One particularly potent, largely kept secret, internally consumed supplemental compound, which we will now discuss, that not only prevents further skin aging, but actively reverses it, is Ribonucleic Acid, (RNA).

RNA, is a substance that forms the fundamental building blocks of your cells and activates energy and DNA repair at the cellular level—playing a critical role in the fight against a wide array of age-related health concerns, from cognitive decline to sagging skin.

A principle part of aging in general is the production of defective messenger RNA molecules, which compromises protein synthesis and produce enzymes that are incapable of performing their essential cellular chemical reactions with full efficiency. This trend, combined with the increased destruction of intact RNA, that progressively occurs with advancing age results in increased cell death rates and decreased energy production.

The dermatological upshot of this is what we classically associate with the aging process: thinner, less elastic skin—and all the resultant lines, folds, sags and bags.

According to Dr. Benjamin Frank, however, you don’t have to kiss your firm, glowing skin goodbye, as long as you’re supplying your body with the extra RNA it needs to stay young. In fact, Dr. Frank’s human studies provided solid evidence that supplementation with doses ranging from 500 mg to 5 grams of RNA per day resulted in dramatically visible improvements to the appearance of aged skin—delivering a healthier, rosier, younger-looking face in as little as one week.

Within one to two months of RNA supplementation, these effects were even more pronounced, with changes not just in smoothness and color of subjects’ skin, but also in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles—especially along the forehead. Within three to four months, a standard “pinch” test showed that, among the 15 patients observed, skin elasticity improved by as much as 40 percent—resulting in an apparent age decrease of as much as ten years or more among the oldest subjects.

Moreover, Dr. Frank also observed that common age-related imperfections—such as “liver spots” and wart-like skin lesions (called senile keratoses)—either decreased in size and pigmentation, or disappeared altogether with longer-term RNA supplementation. He even noted an improvement in acne among some younger subjects—without any dryness, itchiness or irritation, and occasional hair growth in older subjects.

The bottom line: Contrary to popular belief, maintaining healthy, firm, glowing skin will never require a surgical help if you intervene with a collagen enhancement, maintenance regime early enough. If you need or have had work done, the following regime will likely prevent the need for follow up procedures. Dr. Frank was adamant that this could be readily accomplished by RNA supplementation alone. While Dr. Frank may be correct, I prefer a more comprehensive approach. My recommended daily skin care regime currently consist of:

If there is a mild to moderate amount of sagging already evident due to age or weight loss a good facial exercise system or electro-stimulation system designed for facial muscles, or both, can work wonders. The best of these approaches, in my opinion, is detailed in “Yoga Face”, 2008, by yoga instructor Annilese Hagen. She describes yoga based face exercises that can be done anywhere. At 45 years old, she has the flawless face of a 20 year old. You can easily see for yourself on Youtube.